The new drama from playwright Steve Waters, Fast Labour, receives its London premiere at the Hampstead theatre on 3 June (previews from 30 May). The topical piece, which has its world premiere at West Yorkshire Playhouse on Wednesday, explores the life of a Ukrainian migrant worker building a new life in the UK.
Victor, a once-successful factory owner in Ukraine, illegally enters the UK to begin a new life, rising from penniless asylum seeker to profiteering gangmaster. But, with money and profit, his initial struggle and hardship is forgotten, leading to disastrous consequences.
Waters’s previous plays English Journeys and After The Gods were both staged at the Hampstead, where he was the Pearson Writer in Residence in 1998. His other plays include World Music, which was presented at the Donmar Warehouse in 2004.
Fast Labour is directed by West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Artistic Director Ian Brown who, after directing Colin Teevan’s Iraqi war drama How Many Miles To Basra? in 2006, is building a reputation for directing new drama which raises globally significant questions.
Brown directs a cast including Roger Evans, Mark Jax, Craig Kelly, Joseph Kloska, Charlotte Lucas and Kirsty Stuart. Design is by Simon Daw, who recently designed London productions including Baby Girl/DNA/The Miracle, The Enchantment (both National Theatre) and Elling (Bush / Trafalgar Studio 1).
Fast Labour runs at the Hampstead from 30 May to 21 June.
MA